End-gate fastening



(No Model.)

J. J. COOK.

END GATE FASTENING. No. 444,313. Patented Jan; 6, 1891.

ATTORNEYS m: Norms warms co., vnm'o-umm, wnsnmumu, u. c.

UNITE STATES PATENT OEE'IcE.

JOHN J. COOK, OF COLUMBUS JUNCTION, IOlVA.

l END-GATE FASTENING.

SBEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,313, dated January 6, 1891.

Application filed May 3, 1890.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN J. COOK, of Columbus Junction, in the county of Louisa and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in End-Gate Fastenings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in end-gate fastenings, and has for its object to provide a device of simple and durable construction capable of application to any vehicle, and wherein by the manipulation of a lever the end-gate may be released or locked in position as occasion may demand.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the end-gate, illustrating the device in the unlocked position. Fig. 2 is a similar View illustrating the end-gate as locked. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the end-gate and attached device, and Fig. 4 is a partial front elevation of a modified form of the device.

In carrying out the invention the end-gate 10 may be inserted in the sides 10 of the vehicle-body in any suitable or approved manner. At or near the center of the endgate, nearer the upper than the lower end,'a stud or pin 11 is located, upon which an oval or elongated .rocking plate 12 is fulcrumed, the fulcrum-point of the plate being at its center. Upon the upper face of the plate, at one end,

the inner extremity of a locking-bar 13 is pivoted, and upon the opposite end the inner ex treniity of another locking-bar 1a is similarly attached. The two bars extend outward in opposite directions slightly beyond the sides of the wagon-body.

Upon the end-gate proper or upon vertical battens 15 secured to the said end-gate at or near each end a staple or guide strap 16 is fastened, the said staple being preferably located at or near the upper end of the gate. Each lock-bar is adapted to pass through one Serial Mariano. (N0 model.)

of the staples 16, and each bar is preferably made straight until it app roaches the staples, from whence it is carried upward and then horizontally outward, as illustrated at a and u, in Figs. 1 and 2,the upwardly-inclined portion passing through the staple or strap-guide, and the outer extremity of each lock-bar is bent at a right angle to the body thereof in the direction of the forward portion of the vehicle, forming thereby lips 17. Thus when the lock -bars are carried inward the lips 17 may be brought in contact with the outer faces of the side pieces 10 of the wagon-body. To each side piece 10 an angle bracket or bar 18 is fastened, the horizontal member of which extends outward beyond the ends of the sideboards and the face of the end-gate, and in the said horizontal memberof the bracketor anglebar 18 a slot or recess is produced, in which the section a/of the lock-bars is made to travel. On the vertical member of the bar 18 is formed a lug 18, beneath which the lips 17 are received, thereby holding the end-gate fro m working upward. By means of this construction as the bars are manipulate-d theyare properly'guided and made to travel essentially in the same plane. The vertical member of the brackets or bars 18 is secured to the side-boards 10, and the slots or recesses in the brackets prevent the gate from working backward or out when it is locked. The lock-bars are manipulated through the medium'of a lever 19, which consists of a body portion 17, slightly elongated and provided at each side edge with a cam-face b, which face is preferably beveled upon the under side of the body, and a handle which forms a portion of the body and which is grasped by the manipulator in the operation of looking or unlocking. A single cam-face on one side alone may be used, if preferred. The beveled cam-surfaces of the lever are adapted, preferably, to contact with the outer surface of the inner ends of the lock-bars; but if in practice it is found desirable the beveled cam-surface of the lever-body may be produced upon the outer instead of the inner face, in which event the said camsurfaces of the lever will be brought into engagement with the inner face of the inner extremities of the lock-bars,which will be thicker at their inner end and beveled or tapered on the under side. This taper comes in contact with the-edge of the rocking plate 12 and aids in locking when in position; or the construction shown in Fig. 4: may be employed, in which it will be observed that thelockingbars are pivoted near each end of the lever, and the lever is pivoted upon the gate between the locking-bars. The under faces of the locking-bars are beveled to engage with beveled surfaces 6 and 6 upon the lever, and the lower edge of the upper locking-bar is provided with a beveled surface (2 which is engaged by an inclined under edge of an auxiliary lever E, pivoted upon the main lever 12.

In operation, when the handle is in the perpendicular position illustrated in Fig. 1, the rocking plate is brought to a horizontal position and the lock-bars are forced outward, so that their lips are quite removed from the sides of the wagon-body. When the lock-bars are in this position, the end-gate may be readily removed. To lock the gate, the lever 19 is pressed down in the direction of either side of the body, and the friction of the cam-surfaces upon the inner ends of the lock-bars will serve to carry the rocking plate to an essentially vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, and thereby draw the lock-bars inward, causing their lips to contact with the sides of the wagon-body, and a further downward pressure upon the handle of the lever will cause the beveled cam-surfaces of the latter to so bind against the inner extremities of the lock-bars as to firmly hold them in their locked position.

I desire it to be distinctly understood that if in practiceitis found desirable the beveled faces of the lever-body may be omitted; but the construction illustrated, or the reverse of the bevel illustrated, is preferred.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an end-gate, the combination, with a rocking plate and locking-bars pivoted to the said plate, ofa lever provided with opposite cam-faces and adapted for engagement with the adjacent pivoted ends of said lockingbars, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an ei'id-gate, the combination, with a rocking plate and locking=bars, one of said bars being pivoted to each extremity of the said plate,ot' a lever fulcru med upon the pivotpin of the rocking plate and provided with cam-faces upon opposite sides, the said camfaces of the lever being adapted for contact with the pivotal ends 01": the locking-bars, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In an end-gate, the combination, with a rocking plate and locking-bars pivoted to the ends of the said plate, extending outward in opposite directions, and provided with a lip at their outer extremities, of a lever fulcrumed upon the pivot-pin of the rocking plate and provided with cam-faces at opposite sides adapted for contact with the inner ends of the locking-bars, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4-. The combination, with a wagon-body, its end-gate, guidcstaples secured to the said gate near each end thereof, and a rocking plate fulerumed upon the end-gate at or near its center, of locking-bars pivoted to the ends of the said i'ockingplate, the said lockingbars being adapted to extend in opposite directions through the guide-staples, a lip integral with the outer end of each locking-bar formed at a right angle to the body of the said bar, angled brackets attached to the wagon-body at its sides and recessed to receive the locking-bars, and a lever fulcrumed upon the pivotal pin of the rocking plate and provided with a cam-surface at opposite sides adapted for engagement with the inner ends of the locking-bars, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination, with the sliding locking-bars having inclines a a adjacent to their locking extremities a a and an operating mechanism connected with the inner ends of said bars, of guides 16 16, through which said inclines work when the arms are operated to throw their locking portions into and out of engagement with keepers 18, substantially as set forth.

JOHN J. COOK.

Witnesses:

WM. DEFORD, JOHN J. RUSSELL. 

